Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 98

Through the window, I watched the carriages and horses disappear beyond the castle gates.
Nikolai kept his gaze fixed on them until they vanished completely from sight, then finally looked away.
“A honeymoon, you say. I never realized the Viscount could be so thoughtful.”
As if on cue, Nilson spoke up, his fingers twitching at the edge of the bandage wrapped around his arm.
“Which one caught your fancy? Docheop? Or the lady?”
At that question, Nikolai’s brow furrowed.
He wanted to answer that he liked neither of them, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come.
“They’ve been nothing but a nuisance from start to finish. I simply let them go since they asked to leave.”
Unable to admit his defeat in their duel, Nikolai offered this explanation instead.
Nilson opened his mouth as if to speak, then hesitated, his lips trembling slightly.
For instance, he’d seen Nikolai at the Training Grounds early one morning, unable to sleep, crossing swords with Docheop.
He’d witnessed Nikolai drop his blade before Docheop.
But Nilson had decided to keep his master’s secret.
It was because of the magnitude of power he’d witnessed firsthand.
“Is it true that Docheop awakened to the 7th Star? Or is it merely a rumor?”
He asked as if he didn’t know.
Nikolai shook his head slowly. It was an undeniable fact.
“Truly remarkable in every way.”
Nilson let out an exclamation of wonder. There was likely no one in the world who had awakened to the 7th Star in merely a month. Nikolai and Helbeorn had also ascended at impressive speeds, yet it had taken them years.
Something was decidedly unusual. The power Docheop possessed seemed fundamentally different.
And Nikolai understood this better than anyone, for he had felt it directly—the moment their blades met, Docheop had unleashed an explosive awakening.

“How exactly are you awakening consecutively like this?”

That was when Nikolai asked.

“The power of love?”

Docheop offered yet another frivolous answer.

“Speaking of which, I should probably take that honeymoon.”
“You’ve only just awakened and you’re already losing sight of the situation. You’re fulfilling an obligation now that you should have completed long ago. There are many mountains still ahead for you to climb.”

Though his words were cold, it was the first piece of advice Nikolai had ever given his younger brother. Now that the floodgates of awakening had opened, this was the moment for growth. It was no time to indulge in leisures like honeymoons.

“When you return, promise me you’ll reach the 8th Star.”
“…The leap from 7th to 8th Star is a different tier altogether.”

Even Nikolai had taken a full two years to ascend that single rank. And Docheop intended to achieve it immediately? A sudden, explosive awakening—even for someone like Docheop, who had undergone such a dramatic transformation, it bordered on the impossible.
Yet Docheop spoke with unwavering confidence.

“If I fail to reach the eighth star, I’ll leave the Family without hesitation. Since I’ve been a thorn in everyone’s side all these years, this is quite a fair bargain, wouldn’t you say?”

He spoke with a light laugh, but Nikolai felt an inexplicable heaviness settle deep within his chest. Because of it, he could neither offer counsel as an older brother nor muster the words to encourage him.
Before leaving, Docheop had left behind a gift.
“Viscount, why have you been fiddling with that bundle since earlier?”
At Nilson’s question, Nikolai quickly tucked the bundle deep into his pocket.
“Your arm was broken, so did you spend all this time practicing with your mouth instead? When did you become such a chatterbox?”
“Well, that is… haha.”
Nilson scratched the back of his head with his one uninjured arm.
Nikolai, regarding him with evident irritation, rose from his seat. He picked up the gift box adorned with a silk ribbon.
“Where are you going now?”
“To see Mother. Are you planning to follow?”
Ah…
Nilson smacked his lips with unmistakable regret before rambling on one last time.
“The Duchess will be overjoyed when she learns of the young master’s awakening. Perhaps there will even be a banquet held this evening.”
At that, Nikolai’s gaze turned sharp as a blade.
“Do I look like I would tell her?”
“Would you not?”
“Why would I?”
Why would I announce that scoundrel’s awakening and disturb the rare, peaceful tea time I share with Mother?
Nikolai left that thought unspoken as he strode briskly from the Study. His footsteps carried an unmistakable rhythm as he made his way toward Mother’s chambers.
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Docheop’s colleagues were scattered across each empire.
One of them was Elise Cardia, blessed with the magical power of a Grand Mage. She was the Noblewoman of the Cardia Duke House who had attended the wedding. I wished I could have met her that day, but I was too preoccupied with my escape to manage it.
Still, there was hope. Francesca had secured investments from the Cardia and Tierphol families. Elise in particular had been living as a noble lady who merely pretended to obey her family before meeting Docheop, so it shouldn’t be difficult to arrange a meeting under the guise of investment discussions.
‘The problem is the remaining two.’
The two people separated in the Northern and Southern Empires respectively carried the blood of the Hero Family but weren’t affiliated with it. In other words, I would need to search for their whereabouts.
But I already knew where they were.
“You said we’re going to the Southern Empire, didn’t you?”
Inside the rattling carriage, I watched the scenery blur past as I asked Docheop, who sat across from me. He stopped reading his newspaper and nodded.
“This is the fifth time you’re asking, you know.”
“I still can’t believe it.”
“That we’re going on a honeymoon? Or that we’re going to the Southern Empire?”
Both were equally unbelievable.
Aside from fleeing on my wedding day, this was my first time leaving the castle.
“Your face says you wouldn’t have gone if it weren’t for the Southern Empire.”
He grumbled and set the newspaper aside, clearly displeased that I hadn’t eagerly chosen the former.
“That’s not true.”
I quickly denied it, worried he might sulk.
“You’re happy about this, right?”
“Of course. It’s been so long since I’ve gone out. And not just to the south, but to the Southern Empire itself—I’m thrilled.”
Thrilled indeed. It was refreshing to be out in the open air after so long, and I was genuinely excited at the prospect of meeting Docheop’s colleagues.
“But why do you look so lost in thought since earlier?”
He asked with curiosity.
He was perceptive.
‘It’s because I’m racking my brain over how to find his colleagues.’
But there was no way he could know that. Meeting his colleagues was still a long way off in the future.
“I’m troubled that I couldn’t pay my respects to your mother before leaving.”
I offered a plausible excuse.
“My brother will tell her. About my awakening too.”
“I wish I could have told her myself. If she’d known, wouldn’t she have patted your backside and praised you?”
“Patted my… backside?”
Docheop’s expression turned strange. His eyes questioned why anyone would do such a thing.
“It’s not odd. It’s one way parents show affection to their children. But let me be clear—I don’t go around touching people’s backsides while praising them.”
“I understand. I won’t misunderstand.”
He laughed. Warm sunlight streamed through the window. Though it was early winter and the wind was cold, the breeze flowing through the moving carriage felt refreshing, and I didn’t want to close the curtains.
Besides, Junel, who had been enjoying the cool air, had just fallen asleep. He’d said his energy would plummet once we got far from Bloodmere, so he’d settled in for a long rest to conserve strength. He’d complained as if he’d die when we left the Dominion, but the moment Docheop mentioned being a 7-Star, he quietly gathered his luggage.
“Docheop.”
I gazed up at the bright sky where the sun poured down and called to him.
“Hmm?”
“You know how on sunny days like this, if you look out the Annex window, you can see a Tower?”
That Tower—the one where he would surely be trapped by now if I hadn’t possessed this body.
I asked if he knew that.
“I do.”
“Can we return before winter comes and freezes the very peak of that Tower?”
The carriage lurched violently.
It swayed so hard I nearly lost my balance.
He seemed to say something, but I couldn’t hear it over the noise.
I turned my gaze back to him.
“What did you just say?”
His eyes held an unfamiliar, distant quality.
“Docheop?”
When I called his name again, he opened his mouth with deliberate slowness.
“…We’ll return. Before then.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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